My 60 movements are derived
from Professor Cheng Man-Ching’s 37 postures. I am using the term movements,
which I feel is more descriptive than postures. I modified Prof. Cheng’s short
form because during my first decade teaching I was often asked by my students
about the “missing parts” of the Yang-style long form. It was not until I had
taught for 20 years that I felt confident enough to make a change by adding
various parts and removing some repetitions.

The 60 movements I have now
adapted remain the same in basic idea and principle. The length remains
unchanged, and I count each individual posture and each repetition as a
movement. All movements are as slow, soft, and gentle in a continuous flow as
Prof. Cheng’s original short form.

However, compared to versions generally
taught, my 60 movements are slightly higher in stance and smaller in step. This
difference is intentional. In the slow motion of Tai Chi Chuan, body weight is
mostly on one leg. If the student is relaxed, as he/she should be, their weight
tends to sink down. As a result, it may cause fatigue and exhaustion in the
legs, which leads to an unconscious upper body tension. Ultimately this might
affect the smooth inner qi energy flow and body coordination.

My higher stances and
smaller steps are designed to keep the body more relaxed. It makes it easier to
release the crotch鬆胯,
bend the knees and slide the tailbone backward while keeping the triceps
floating in the air. This releases the tension in the ribcage. The hip-joints
creasing and body sinking stabilizes balance and allows the mind to be focused.
This contributes to the full commitment of the awareness brain to direct the
movement of qi氣.

Qi is an action energy that is directed by the awareness in the brain. Fingers
and toes are the remote objectives of the brain. The awareness rises, the toes
crunch against the floor and the fingers spiral outward. The Chinese acupuncture
diagram refers to the big toe and the thumb as part of the brain. I call the top
of head “brain No. 1,” the big toe “brain No. 2,” and the thumb “brain No. 3.”
These three brains are the dynamic source of human action.

Without these dynamic sources, we were not able to build our modern
civilization.To integrate these
three brains in Tai Chi practice is the basic goal of the martial artist. When
the brain is informed by a target, the toes step in and the fingers deliver the
knuckles for a punch without any delay.

In the slow motion of Tai Chi Chuan, when the awareness brain is rising, the qi
inflates and fingers move as the toes crunch. That is the central point of my 60
movements. The toes crunch, arms float, fingers move and body follows, it
appears as if the fingers are dancing. Therefore, I have referred to these
movements as “Finger Dancing” for thepast 40
plus years.

I emphasize crunching and scooping toes into the ground in my Tai Chi classes.
This helps to empower the flow of qi. The deeper the crunch into ground the more
qi energy rises into the fingers.
That enhances the martial artist’s strength in his/her action.

Crunching the toes builds up the toes’ strength which help us to walk, run and
jump. It is very helpful to seniors for maintaining or regaining their walking
ability, stabilizing their balance and reducing the fear of falling. Strong toes
make the legs strong, which enables an 84-year-old like me to teach all my
classes. When I teach for 5 or 6 hours in my annual domestic and oversea
workshops I never feel the need to sit. Also, I am very happy that I still able
to walk up the 10 floors in my building every day without depending on the
elevator. Life is never happier than when one can live independently without
depending on help from others.

In addition, the toes crunching against the ground boosts oxygen-enriched blood
(氣血)
and qi energy, which then penetrates to the toes. This may be considered as a
treatment or prevention of diabetic disease. When those who practice for general
health and concentrate on energizing their toes through this crunching action,
they boost their qi energy streams throughout all meridians, which results in
good health and longevity.